Introduction
At Cheeze, we’ve built more than just products—we’ve built a resilient team and a strong foundation, forged through the highs and lows of innovation. Our journey has been defined by tenacity, passion, and an unwavering commitment to our mission: creating products that enhance user experiences and seamlessly onboard them to new technology.
Like Apple’s philosophy of 1+1=3, we believe true innovation happens when the right elements come together in unexpected ways. We strive to build products people didn’t know they needed but soon can’t live without. Sometimes, we’ve been ahead of the curve. Sometimes, we’ve set our ambitions sky-high. But through it all, we’ve continued to show up, push boundaries, and stay focused on what matters—delivering technology that makes life better.
The Early Years: A Photo Management App (2018–2020)
Cheeze originally began in 2018 as a photo management app. With the help of Guy Kawasaki, we built an incredible product that allowed families to manage private group chats and content. Our first major milestone came when we launched Cheeze V1 at Startup Grind, gaining early traction and valuable insights from the startup community.
The traction was promising, and various iterations helped us refine the experience. However, when COVID-19 hit, the need for such a product diminished significantly, and growth stalled.
In response in mid 2020, we attempted to pivot towards solutions for schools and classrooms, hoping to provide a unique value proposition in education. We launched a rebranded version of our product called Privy™ and tried to help onboard schools, however, we found ourselves competing with giants like Microsoft Teams and Slack, making it difficult to gain traction.
A Bold Pivot: Photography Meets Blockchain (2020–2022)
By late 2020, with the worst of the pandemic behind us, we saw an opportunity in the growing crypto space. We made the bold decision to pivot into NFTs, aiming to bring photography to the blockchain.
In 2021, we successfully closed a Pre-Seed funding round, securing backing from Dapper Labs, the creators of the Flow Blockchain. This funding enabled us to launch the first NFT marketplace for photography on Flow in early 2022. The launch was a success, generating over $250,000 in the first 24 hours.
As the interest around NFTs grew we became a frequent guest at events around the world and were asked to comment on the space. Some articles that were covered can be found here:
However, by mid-2022, the NFT market faced a sharp decline, and the excitement around our product waned. This was a difficult period, but we were fortunate to welcome Marc Randolph (Netflix Co-Founder) and Greg Hoffman (former Nike CMO) to the team, adding valuable expertise and strategic insight.
Licensing & Mastercard Collaboration (2023)
With some runway left in early 2023, we explored how to repurpose our existing technology. During this phase, we discovered a significant problem that brands faced in licensing content from creators. This insight led us to pivot once again, launching Cheeze 3.0, a platform designed to help brands easily license content from influencers.
This iteration caught the attention of Mastercard, leading to our invitation to join their Crypto Accelerator program, StartPath. The announcement went live in April 2023, and we spent the remainder of the year working closely with Mastercard to refine our offering. The goal was to help brands license and reward creators for their content.
While the program provided incredible insights, we still faced the fundamental challenge: until the majority of the world was onchain, we would always hit a ceiling in terms of traction. Additionally, funding constraints were becoming a pressing concern.
A Challenging Year & Finding Product-Market Fit (2024)
2024 was arguably our toughest year. While we had built a strong brand and accumulated a wealth of experience, we still lacked a product with true market fit and a stable funding model.
We took a step back and spoke to industry experts, trying to identify the core problem that needed solving. The answer was clear:
Bringing people onchain was still too complex.
There needed to be a clear incentive for users to participate.
The onboarding experience had to be seamless.
With these principles in mind, we shifted our focus to brand loyalty—an area where blockchain could truly provide real-world value.
To fund this vision, we explored launching a token and successfully secured capital to continue development. We also engaged Market Makers and began discussions with exchanges. However, by the summer, we made the strategic decision to postpone the token launch to early 2025 to focus on building a solid foundation first.
Our primary goal for 2024 became securing strategic partnerships and shipping a working product before the year’s end. We achieved both.
The Turning Point: Partnerships & Product Launch (Q4 2024)
Despite the challenges, 2024 ended on a high note. We successfully launched the beta version of our new product in Q4 of 2024, and the results have been promising.
Additionally, we secured major partnerships with:
Amazon AWS
Apple’s NFC program
Coinbase’s Base Chain
These partnerships allowed us to package everything together into what we believe is an incredible product that solves the onboarding problem for brands and users alike.
Read more about our partnership with Apple’s NFC program here.
The Future of Cheeze (2025-Beyond)
The vision for Cheeze is to bring brand loyalty onchain, creating a global loyalty network where anyone, anywhere, can earn and redeem Cheeze loyalty points powered by blockchain technology. By leveraging our powerful scan-to-earn technology, we make it effortless for Web2 users to onboard—simply by scanning real-world barcodes. This seamless approach bridges the gap between traditional consumer engagement and blockchain-powered loyalty.
As we scale this vision in 2025, we are actively exploring how AI agents can streamline solutions for brands looking to join the Cheeze Loyalty Network. These AI-driven tools will enable brands to automate loyalty rewards, enhance customer interactions, and optimise real-time engagement, making participation in the loyalty ecosystem more intuitive and effective.
After years of development and iteration, we have arrived at a true product-market fit, a frictionless, blockchain-powered loyalty solution that redefines how brands and consumers interact.
It's time to build and we can't wait for what 2025 has in store.
————
Simon Hudson
CEO
/Follow me @hudson
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Cheeze, Inc.